Not Just A Hat Rack

Bull Durham Sequel?

Bull Durham ranks with Cinema Paradiso as my favorite movies of all time. They're both about old wise man mentoring young dude... ok, I guess the similarities end there. Imagine my surprise when I read this ESPN article suggesting the 21st century sequel to Bull Durham.

Is it baseball Opening Day yet? Are they really opening in Japan? Anyways, enjoy:
Whatever happened to Nuke Laloosh?

Secondly, thanks for Kali for posting this link on Marking the Referee. Sports Illustrated opening their archives? Very, very cool. Read about it here. If you're not a NY Times on-line subscriber, let me know and I'll post here.

Black List

Mrs. 'Hat Rack and I made it to Park City for a Sundance film for the first time in our four winters in Utah. (Supplemental draft? Times like this and I miss MLS absolutely not at all!)

The World Premiere documentary Black List did not disappoint. It's not often you can say, "starring Slash (the guitarist), Colin Powell (the cabinet member), Chris Rock (a really skinny funny dude), Toni Morrison (Nobel Prize winner), a museum curator, dancer, Negro Leagues baseball player and the Chairman of Time-Warner - for starters. Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders and ex-NY Times movie critic Elvis Mitchell ("the interviewer") were on hand to introduce the film and take questions from the audience. Watch Keenan Ivory Wayans here:

Mr. Anschutz Strikes Again

I just discovered that the movie "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium" (see previous entry) was produced by Anschutz' Walden Media. It was nearly 10 years ago when I first started hearing that my old boss, Phil Anschutz, was tired of the poor moral quality of Hollywood and started his own company to put family-friendly films back in the forefront. Between "Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe' and this film, I'd say he's on the right track. Thanks, Uncle Phil! You always back up your words with deeds.

"Wonder" never ceases

Happy Thanksgiving, friendly readers. Here's hoping the dry, cold Salt Lake City Thursday does nor portend more of the same or thanks will be in short supply this ski season.

We took a different approach to the holiday today. After helping Princess 'Hat Rack open a present at about 5:45am (eyes closed, fumbling with stupid packaging), today was all about family. She had received the Little People-brand "Noah's Ark" on Wednesday night as a reward for the end of diapers in the 'Hat Rack household (5 1/2 years, 3 kids and an estimated $4,000 later!) - but fell asleep on the way home from the store and slept right through to this morning, when she toddled into our room with the giant box.

With family scattered from Chicago to Washington state to Texas to Arizona, we kept it simple -- all the trimmings (stuffing, salad, cranberries, sweet potatoes, etc.) and barbequed steak -- instead of turkey. We took advantage of the window created by not roasting turkey by taking the little ones to see Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium - a positively delightful and thoroughly recommendable fable about a toy store, its 234-year-old proprietor (Dustin Hoffman), its manager (Natalie Portman) and one nine-year-old who believed in the store. The one review I read glowed that the film succeeded where the majority don't - it created a sense of wonder, in its truest form, in the eyes of children. In a complicated, too-busy-for-our-own-good world, who doesn't need a 90-minute respite to unleash imagination and be in awe of the magical and mystical? Need a fix of fun and dreams? Grab a kid and treat them to this movie. You'll be thankful you did.

What almost brought me to tears though, was a greeting from an RSL fan in the still-darkened theatre as we watched the credits roll (and the introductory and concluding credits are worth the $5.50 in their own right!)... A man named Tyler came up and thanked me for all the work I did on behalf of RSL, ever since the day he met me three years ago at the Clint Mathis introduction phone call. Many people have told me they appreciated all I poured into RSL, but for some reason, this comment on Thanksgiving day - in the same theatre complex where we launched the "Real Week" movie concept - struck a nerve in a warm place. Thank YOU Tyler. I remember a sense of awe and wonder when we introduced THE Clint Mathis in January 2005. Sometimes it feels like that luster is gone, long gone, from RSL, but I think if you allow yourself to believe, the child-like attraction of a sports team to its fans can always still be found. Thanks RSL fans, it was a great ride. I told Tyler I was glad that the job had brought me here - that my family really liked Salt Lake and that now I, "have a job where I get to take people to Mt. Everest."

That's plenty to be thankful for today. Grandma, Grandpa, Nana, Pop, siblings and cousins 'Hat Rack - we are thinking of you today.

Now is it too much to ask for some snow?

Bright Lights Dashed

I emerged from the movie Waitress last night depressed. It's billed as a romantic comedy with a dark side (think Dixie Chicks' "Goodbye Earl"). It lived up to the hype it garnered at this year's Sundance Film Festival where it was an audience favorite. It's a likeable film about choices, loves and regrets in the lives of three waitresses in a pie restaurant in the South. So, why was I bummed?

Director, writer and supporting actress Adrienne Shelly is memorable as the "ugly duckling" of the waitress trio. She never learned that her film had been accepted at Sundance - she was brutally murdered in her NYC office just weeks before the Sundance committee announced its 2007 selections.

Shelly had just turned 40 and had reached one of the great milestones in her craft and in her life. And then her life was extinguished in an instant by a deranged downstairs neighbor who she had complained about making too much noise. Tragic. Her daughter's name is Sophie. Her memory lives here.

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So, the most prominent piece of artwork in Yellowstone National Park hangs above the 104-year-old dining room fireplace in the Old Faithful Inn Dining Room. It is an image of Old Faithful surrounded by three bison, painted by Paco Young in 2001. It seemed odd to me that a 6-year-old painting would hang in one of the most iconic places in America. So, I asked.

"He died recently, that's all I know," said the tour guide.

Paco Young painted for 20 years - earning reknown for his works depicting the landscapes and animals of Montana, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and a few other Western sites. The National Park Service commissioned Young to paint Old Faithful.

On December 3, 2004 he was diagnosed with leukemia. Just 363 days later, on December 1, 2005, he passed away holding the hand of his wife, Toni. His son, Graham, was 11. The website www.pacoyoung.com still talks about him in present tense. His wife's journal, through his sickness, his death and her grieving is poignant and touching here. Tragic, again.

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So, in 24 hours, I learn two stories of relatively young artists struck down at the peak of their careers. At least they lived full lives and fulfilled lifelong dreams. How their families must miss them.

Canadian Doctors, Dead Wrestlers, Deer Valley... Once

Wow, busy week - and I'm not even the one drving half the night to a small town in British Columbia.

Mrs. Hat Rack departed this morning - sent away with bg "good luck!" signs on the door, porch and car courtesy of some of her training friends. She flew to Vancouver via San Francisco... before a 250+ mile drive tonight to Penticton for Sunday's Ironman Canada race. Not to sound alarm bells, but she slipped on her suitcase at SLC Airport at 7am today and sprained an ankle ligament. Worried, and slightly distraught, she soldiered on. While she was on the ground in San Francisco, we found her a walk-in clinic to go visit in Penticton tomorrow - and then, even better, a walk-in clinic in Vancouver Airport, where she had 4 hours to kill waiting for LL, her traveling and racing companion. That's where we got the "only one ligament sprained" disagnosis... and she's flush with prescriptions, bandages, referrals and a glint of optimism. Unlike in the movie Sicko, however, the great treatment by Canadian doctors is hardly free. Anyways, one ligament can't stop my wife after a year of training and planning. Onward!

So I took the 'Lil Hat Racks up to Deer Valley tonight to hear a friend of mine from college, Mary Beth Maziarz, and her band Wild Honey. They performed at the Deer Valley bandshell - and I really liked her stuff. She sounds a lot like Mary Chapin Carpenter... I met her husband (another NU grad) and saw their little baby... MB and I chatted briefly afterwards and made plans to catch up in the near future. Very cool.

Two nights ago, we FINALLY saw a movie, ONCE, that has been on our list for two months. Sundance's Managing Director, Jill Miller, calls it her "favorite movie EVER" - and it didn't disappoint. It's a modern-day musical romance, featuring an Irish busker named Glen Hansard and a Czech flower vendor, Marketa Irglova, meeting and finding harmony in music on the streets of Dublin. It earns four stars in my book - but doesn't edge Cinema Paradiso as my "favorite movie EVER."

Ok, finally, the dead wrestlers story. Frank Deford had an eye-opening story about deaths in pro wrestling on NPR this morning... Take a listen.

Who's the Sicko?

A Utah attorney and physician invited more than 100 state lawmakers to a free screening of Michael Moore's movie, Sicko. (See my thoughts on the movie in this entry) All but three turned him down, but it's the comments of non-attendees Ogden Rep. Brad Dee and Herrimann Rep. Carl Wimmer, which cast a spotlight on the sorry state of political discourse in this country.

"Michael Moore's movies are full of lies and half-truths and I don't see how this will be any different," said Wimmer. "Until we have a firm grasp on the problem, I don't think anyone will be able to solve it."

Translation: If I bury my head in the sand and don't pretend to have a "grasp" on the problem, maybe some other enlightened person will solve it without any undue effort on my part. Wimmer's quote, believe it or not, is actually easier to stomach than this one:

"I don't wish to support a filmmaker cut from the same cloth as Joseph Goebbels. The solution to our health care system is not socialism, which has never been successful in the long run."

Joseph Goebbels? Does he really mean to say: "The filmmaker doesn't agree with me, therefore he must be intent on perpetrating the greatest crime of the century"?

Unbelievable. Read the whole story here in today's Salt Lake Tribune.

In an unrelated note, did you see today's article on the RSL Stadium that suggests the venue will now open on October 27, 2008? I wonder if they're planning a home playoff game, a friendly or a concert. Regardless, isn't Halloween a pretty frigid night in these parts?

Sicko diagnosis: US Healthcare System Flawed

I admit that I'd never seen a Michael Moore movie before tonight, but Mrs. 'Hat Rack and I didn't want to miss Sicko, still in its first week in U.S. movie theatres. It's a searing "documentary" about faults in the U.S. healthcare system and it glorifies medical care in Cuba, France, England and Canada. I put the word "documentary" in quotes because it's hardly a journalistic, balanced piece. Clearly, Michael Moore has an agenda, multiple enemies and isn't afraid to take sides. It's sensational political theatre of the highest scale. But it's not really a documentary.

(Moore pictured here at the U.S. House with Bobby Rush, Ill., Jon Conyers, Mich., Pete Stark, Calif. and Dennis Kucinich, Ohio - courtesy Northwestern Medill News Service.)

However, based on our own experiences with America's healthcare system (and different employers with varying degrees of coverage), we entered the theatre expecting to concur with his viewpoint. In fact, we walked away with the same sentiment that one of the common people in the movie trailer said, "Every American should see this movie."

It's not that I buy Michal Moore's message "hook, line and sinker." I'm intrigued by his messianic devotion to this cause (reminds me of Al Gore and I still haven't seen An Inconvenient Truth). This movie encouraged me to run home to read more about Moore, Moorewatch.com (one of his leading critics who unwittingly plays a small part in the movie and Rep. John Conyers Jr.'s HB 676 Universal Healthcare proposal. It reinforces my desire to raise my kids overseas in the near future, just to take them out from the provincial cloak that grips this country. (I'm not complaining about the USA or suggesting it's not the greatest country on the planet - but sometimes a little distance is good to reinforce the good and bad about our 50 states).

So, Michael Moore succeeded. He got my $8 to see his film. He sparked a conversation about healthcare. He even earned a place in the 'Hat Rack! But I'm not about to run out and apply for a job working for him! All things in moderation - except healthcare, which really should be universal in our great country.

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One more movie note: Anyone seen Once? Looks like an uplifting Irish romance... we thought the preview looked fantastic.

Sorry for the scarcity of posts this past week. Apparently I've been really busy as I've been mentioned in made newspapers in London (thanks for the heads up rslfm.com!) and Chicago (thanks, Kenn.com). How 'bout that!? Anyone looking for a scoop here... sorry, but I'll do my best to ensure the 'Hat Rack has the breaking news! :)

One more tidbit - Derek Fisher announced he was leaving the Jazz today to better care for his 11-month-old child. (Fisher left the team during the playoffs due to Tatums rare eye cancer - and then sunk a clutch 3-pointer to help put away the Warriors just minutes after arriving at the arena in street clothes.) He is foregoing thee years and $21 million on his contract, but considering he has "six or seven" cities in mind where he can live with his family and find the care Tatum needs, it sure doesn't sound like he's retiring. Fisher really seems to be an NBA player with his priorities straight, but I have a feeling he'll do just fine with a $6 million+ contract this coming season.

Wonder what he thinks about universal health care?

Hot Fuzz

Go see this movie.

Mrs. 'Hat Rack and I make it to about three movies a year. We'd love to get to more - but it just doesn't happen. But tonight we saw the side-splitting farce that is Hot Fuzz (currently playing at the Broadway.) It's definitely British humor. It's pretty intense. It mocks every cop and sherriff movie ever. And whoever wrote and produced it has to be completely insane. This movie is over-the-top.

It's the only movie earning four stars from City Weekly right now - and I think each star is well-deserved. So there.

Go see this movie. Tell your friends the 'Hat Rack made you do it.

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Couple notes...

I never followed up to let those of you in the other 49 states know that Utah is still intact after the Schwarzenegger/Sharpton dual visit on Monday. Believe it or not, neither was the top story on the evening news - they were buried 4-6 stories in on every newcast.

There was a story earlier this week that a Utahan was off to the hospital after opening his car door to look under his car... and falling out and running over himself. That's not easy!

I'm a TRAX fiend - three trips in two weeks. Love it.

NBDL - Utah Flash have a coach. Ho hum.

This just pisses me off... The family of Cardinals' pitcher Josh Hancock, who died when driving drunk (almost double the legal limit) last month, is suing the bar that served him the alcohol? And the tow truck that Hancock swerved to miss causing his accident? Give me a break.

Utah High School 4-A and 5-A Boys' soccer finals tomorrow at Juan Diego. If you haven't watched the teens play, you should check them out.

And finally, BIG NEWS, pizza has arrived in Utah. REAL PIZZA. It took us months to get there but SetteBello on 2nd West is worth the hype. The pizza tastes just like in Italy. For this reason alone, the chance of me staying in SLC just got a little better.

Diarios de Motocicleta (2004)

Mrs. Hat Rack and I haven't made it to Sundance in our first two years here on the Wasatch Front.  We're intending to try and make a film this year, but meantime must derive satisfaction from catching one of 2004's breakthrough films on TV on the Sundance Channel tonight.

Filmed in Argentina, Chile, Peru and Cuba, Motorcycle Diaries is an endearing portrait of one of the most polarizing figures in 20th century America, Ernesto "Che" Guevara, as a 23-year-old.  Just a semester short of graduation from medical school, he sets out with his crass, clever 29-year-old biochemist friend, Alberto Granado, on a motorcycle journey from Buenos Aires to Patagonia to Valparaiso to Macchu Picchu to Caracas.  Politics aside, I recommend this film indisputably for its very original portrait of one of the most truly revolutionary characters in history.  Plus, the landscapes and faces of 1950's South America are spellbinding.

And if you delve into the politics, you see the seeds sown of Che's fiery, short-lived revolutionary life - before it became a myth, a logo, a focal point for young liberals everywhere.  Laced with humor, the film still paints a grim portrayal of indigenous men marching to near certain doom in the Atacama copper mines of Chile; of ruined Macchu Picchu abandoned for sprawling, miserable Lima; of laborers, lepers, artisans and the outermost fringes of mid-20th century society.

In the final credits, we learn that Granado accepted Che's invitation to Cuba in 1960 and founded a medical school where he still dwells today.  Che Guevara never saw the '70s.

To my father, who under ordinary circumstances would summarily dismiss a Sundance film (executive producer Robert Redford) telling Che Guevara's story ... don't.  For the humor, the crisp Argentine language, the cinematography and the origins of the Che Guevara legend, it's worth every minute.  I'll be surprised if you don't see a little of yourself in Italy in 1960; and a little of your son in the Czechoslovakia in 1991.